United Front on University Campuses (Part 1): China’s Infiltration into Taiwan Campuses

This is a translation of the original【校園統戰團系列報導1】中國計畫性滲透臺灣校園！馬英九訪中團已 3 人成為學生會長！by Liao,Yu-Han (廖昱涵). Originally published by Watchout. Translation by Stacy Tang and edited by Chieh-Ting Yeh.

China offers student exchange programs as a part of its United Front to influence Taiwanese society at all levels. These budget-friendly travel packages are hard to resist.

For example, we interviewed Su, a student, who strongly supports Taiwan’s sovereignty against China. He admits that the discounts and perks provided by the United Front are a major appeal for students. Su says, “as a tour group, it’s great!” However, he also warns, “while enjoying China’s grandiose natural beauty, we must remain cautious.”

Chen Youwei (陳佑維), a director of the group Taiwan Economic Democracy Union, believes that the usual United Front tours for Taiwanese students lack effectiveness and proper organization, but those hosted by Taiwanese political parties or groups are the real threat. He mentions, for example, the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation have organized students to go with former president Ma Ying-jeou to visit China; three of those students have snagged student union president positions.

The Big Exchange

Minister Chiu Tai-san of Mainland Affairs Council pointed out at a legislative session that China has began “The Big Exchange” with Taiwanese students in May. Additionally, the Ministry of Education mandated pre-departure declarations and alerted participants to changes in the overall environment in China.

Despite the increased risks, an individual interviewed under the pseudonym “Far Ahead” observed: “After COVID-19 there are a lot of new exchange groups that came out of nowhere.” He believes that students’ attitudes towards United Front groups are becoming increasingly indifferent, and the number of participants will only increase in the future.

“Far Ahead” mentioned that, at the moment, these groups are all over-subscribed. They can even screen participants and prioritize new applicants. He noted that recently, the exchange groups he had previously participated in have started organizing trips to 5-6 provinces, with each group having around 30-40 slots but with over 200 applicants fighting for those spots.

“Far Ahead” believes that China’s approach has become more friendly and polite, where they extend invitations for everyone to come and play without forcing anything. As he believes Taiwanese people are more receptive to gentle persuasion than forceful tactics, this type of strategy is particularly alarming. He said, “China has finally found the right approach.”

Sensitive industries under scrutiny

Chen Youwei also believes that the risk posed by these United Front groups to students is not high, since it is unlikely that Taiwanese citizens would be detained in China. China is not likely to repeat its tactics with Lee Ming-che (the Taiwanese NGO worker detained in China on false charges for five years), which turned a lot of Taiwanese people against China.

However for Taiwanese students, being on these exchange trips might affect future careers. Experience with United Front groups can be a minus for people going into politics, and even individuals involved in sensitive industries might be interpreted as having dubious affiliations.

Chen highlighted that some of his friends in electrical engineering departments have started to take into account China’s “Anti-Espionage Law” and the United States’ “CHIPS Act,” worrying about potential issues for if they want to work in the US in the future. He believes that the risks associated with going to China have already been recognized within the electrical and information engineering community.

“Taiwanese students nowadays probably view working on chips in China as unappealing. Current professors likely also advise them to some extent and instill a sense of pride in certain Taiwanese industries, questioning the likelihood of making big fortunes by working on chips in China.”

Chen is candid about the idea of doing speculative business in China, which he said was lucrative “perhaps 10-15 years ago.” He refers to it as the “Swing Generation,” where students acknowledge that it’s not a long term career path, but were nonetheless enticed by the easy money, so they went to China to pursue opportunities for the short term. He knows some students from previous exchange groups who went to China for this reason, and many have since returned. Moreover, it’s not just foreign investment that is withdrawing; China itself is struggling to find new innovative business models. He reveals that in reality, some individuals who are showcased by the Chinese official media Xinhua News Agency on the Youth United Front website are actually not doing that well in China.

Even though the effectiveness of the exchange groups is minimal, Chen believes that news exposure about exchanges with Taiwan in Chinese media may serve as a form of internal propaganda and is one of the reasons why China continues to use United Front strategies.

Hold the bottom line

Su, the student, suggests that China believes if it invests in 100 individuals and only one aligns with their interests, it would still be a significant gain. Despite the low success rate, the potential benefits are substantial, including possibly establishing a new network in Taiwan.

Graduate student T also implies that, out of curiosity, many might be tempted to visit at least once. However, even if one is aware of the United Front nature of these groups, personal interactions there can easily foster positive impressions. Therefore, it’s crucial to remain vigilant in order to not be influenced and swayed.

For those who want to join exchange groups to China in the future, Su advises: “Even when you’re admiring the greatness of the nature, it’s important to stay cautious. You can’t simply let loose and have fun carelessly over there.” He admits that most students would still seize the opportunity to go. Nevertheless, anyone who is politically sensitive would understand the implications.

Another university student interviewed under the pseudonym “R” advised not to join these exchange groups at a young age without possessing critical thinking skills. Reflecting on her own experiences, she recalls going to China without comprehending the implications. She was forced to wear heavy makeup, pose for photos, and was dragged on stage to sing “We Are Dreaming the Same Dream.” In retrospect, she regards the experience as rather unpleasant.

Special trips from Taiwan

Overall, according to Chen Youwei, the semi-public United Front groups that typical university students can participate in are generally not overly dangerous. Participants may have some skepticism about China, and they may reassess their perspectives after experiencing it with an open mind. These “pseudo-enlightening United Front groups” are not very effective and rarely result in any subsequent action. The relationships forged in these groups usually don’t last beyond two months, and they are not a tightly organized network.

“What’s more concerning is when political parties or affiliated organizations from Taiwan conduct these visits, and the public is unaware of the participants’ identities,” Chen said. He cites as an example the students who accompanied Ma Ying-jeou to China, which was organized by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation. Following their return, three people from the trip became student council presidents. Chen mentioned that while it’s unclear when the plan was devised, it’s certain that upon their return, they initiated activities within the university student community.